Transferring the Responsibility

I haven’t blogged in forever! Worked with 3 different students this week (they are dedicated!!!). Everyone is at about the same spot….and it got me thinking about our progression in training tracking dogs.

When we first start them out….we simply follow. They follow the cookies, we follow them. As they make the mental connection between cookies and the smell that leads them to cookies (and we have no idea what that smell is)….we add a little line tension, look for a little rear end engagement. At that point, we are transferring a tiny bit of responsibility to them—they take us, rather than we follow them.

Then we start with our first turn….and if the dog gives even a hint of following the second leg—we go. No line tension, no asking for proof—we follow. Of course—because we can’t ask an animal to ‘take us’ if they haven’t learned to follow the track. Once they are making a consistent effort to turn in the direction of the track, we re-apply line tension AFTER they have found, and taken a few steps down, the new leg. Again, this is light tension—we still aren’t asking for pulling—but, we are transferring responsibility to them taking us rather than us following them.

I like to add a second turn next. No reason, it’s just worked for me. And, it’s the same process…dog makes the first turn, we follow, he commits, we apply a little tension….he approaches the second turn, we hope for loss of scent…and if not, we will probably stop him…and go again, at the smallest hint of finding the leg.

I spend a lot of time here, at two turns. And it’s what I go back to when things fall apart (notice I said “when” not “if”—things falling apart is part of training. Accept it, adapt to it).

Now my dog is doing a credible job at two turns, so I change the criteria. Now…as he approaches the turn flag (5 yards before the turn), I’m watching for any tiny, minuscule behavior that might be loss of scent—and I am stopping—STOPPING, not slowing down— when I see it. Hopefully he will circle…and when he crosses the track, i will immediately take a step. IF he then shows a little commitment, I add a little tension—the amount of tension directly corresponds to the degree of commitment. If your dog isn’t sure, and you ask him to pull like a mule, he will probably quit; if he doesn’t quit, I promise you, you have undermined his confidence. I am not in a hurry here—I want him to know that when he tells me the scent is gone, he can look for it. If he needs to stop and think, fine. When he goes back to work…..is he correct? Then stopping and thinking was worth it. If he just hauls off in any direction…I need to rethink how I laid the track to make it easier, more obvious for him to make the correct choice. Over many reps (why I like 2 turn tracks), the LOS behavior will get stronger because it is reinforced by the new leg (and how thoughtfully we lay it of course). Once I have a LOS I consider ‘clear’ to me (but not yet perfect), and only once I have that….I start asking the dog to show me the next leg—either by pulling hard in the correct direction, or by letting line run while my feet stay still.

Now I’ll add a third turn. Many years ago DeeDee Rose told me dogs can only count to 3…and I think she was correct. Once your dog can make three turns, they can make 10. So I’m super careful in introducing #3 just like I did the first one. I want 3 super solid turns!! So start slowly, build it like its the first turn. BUT, hang onto that LOS criteria. You still have to stop whenever the dog shows LOS…even though the track continues straight ahead. This is another time we are transferring responsibility—whenever the dog offers LOS behavior, we STOP, let them search, and make sure when they refind…it’s the track. It is rare for a dog to simply put it’s nose down and track to the end without lifting it up or casting off. So we have to train US to respond to what the dog is telling us. Most common human error I see is the handler continuing to move forward because they know where the track is.

Once the dog can do three turns….it’s time for the training rotation. And, it goes without saying that you’ve been working articles HARD every single track. FYI, even in the rotation, I spend a lot of time on 2 & 3 turn tracks. Think of the number of variables you can have on a 2 turn track—L, R, Open, 90. Play with those four options, and you’ve got something like 16 different tracks!!! And that’s just turn options. Now play with length options (first leg short, second leg short, last leg long; first leg short, second leg long, last leg long, etc etc etc.

At every step along the way, first I follow willingly, then, when the dog is confident, I slowly transfer the responsibility to him.

And since someone is asking this in their head, what about food and age? I wean food using my scuff-walk pattern, and am not in a big hurry to get rid of it. In my ideal world my dog does exactly 4 tracks without food in his life—certification, TD test, TDX test, and VST test. And age is an element I can work in each time I train…simply be being thoughtful and always being focused on my dog succeeding.

Hope that gives you something to chew on. Comments and questions welcome